This Week in Gaming

Okay gaming. Last week I said some things, I admit I got a little mad. You must realize that things have been difficult lately. You’ve been changing, and I’ve been struggling to evolve with you. But I’m willing to make this work if you are. We’ve had a long time together, and it would be a shame to throw it all away over a fucking Goat Simulator. That being said, you have to make some changes. No more rip-off indie games. No more perfunctory re-releases. And no. More. Simulators! Right let’s get on with it.

Okay I can work with this, we’re off to a good start. Volumeis a top-down third person stealth game. From the looks of things it seems to have the feel of an early Metal Gear Solid, which is meant as the highest kind of praise by the way. It also stars Andy Serkis as the villain, which adds a bit of credibility to this small little indie game. No sarcasm here, this one genuinely looks appealing and seems to have been fashioned with care by its developer Mike Bithell. The game is released on PS Vita, PS4 and PC on August 18th.

Released episodically back in February, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 received a full retail port on the Xbox One, PS4, PC, as well as the last generation consoles. Now, on August 18th, the complete collection will be making its way to the PSVita. This franchise is quite precious to me, so in the place of my usual cynicism and unjustified skepticism, I’m just gonna say ‘Buy it’. It can’t be any worse than Resi 6.

Have you ever wondered, ‘Why aren’t there more zombie games out there?’ Well catering for this gap in the market is Zombi,the port of the popular Wii U launch game, ZombiU, hence the missing ‘E’. The new version arrives on the 18th for the Xbox One and PS4, and later this month on the PC. Although there won’t be a second screen (a big part of the gameplay of ZombiU), minimal HUD and tense unpaused backpack rummaging sessions will remain. So basically, with its missing gimmick, it’s now just the same as any other zombie game. Well it would be asking too much for a week totally free of garbage.

Another week. Another ultimate edition. It feels like publishers just throw a dart at a board to select which games are gonna get a polished re-release now. This week it’s Risen 3. The game boasts visuals on par with “ultra” settings from the game’s original PC release, and all of Risen 3‘s previously released DLC. The game is released on August 21st on consoles. So just to be crystal clear. A game, released one year ago, to mostly negative reviews, is now here for an”enhanced” edition. Sure. Okay.

One quick final thing. At some point this week (the day has yet to be specified) Rocksteady Studio’s Batman: Arkham Knight will be getting a new piece of DLC. Said update comes in the form of a new vehicle. To be more precise, players will now be able to control the 1989 Batmobile, based on the version seen in the Tim Burton film. It’s not just a new skin however, it handles different (reportedly better) than the one already in the game and has had tracks designed specifically for it. The DLC pack also contains a variety of other additions, including new character skins and will launch first for Season Pass holders.